It should be clearly understood that ‘zina’ (fornication/adultery) is an extremely serious and major sin.
Allah the Almighty says in the Qur’an:
“Do not even go close to fornication. It is indeed a shameful act, and an evil way to follow.”
(Surah al-Isra, Ayah 32)
Therefore, if a person has fallen into this sin, they should sincerely turn to Allah with regret, seek His forgiveness, and make a clear intention to never go anywhere near this sin again. Surely, Allah alone is the One who accepts repentance.
As for the issue of the permissibility of marrying a Christian woman, the Islamic ruling is that marriage to a woman from the ‘Ahl ul Kitaab’ (People of the Book) is permitted in the Qur’an, but there are certain conditions:
She must believe in a revealed scripture that the Qur’an recognizes as a Book of Allah, such as the Toraah, Zaboor, or Injeel, and she must also believe in the prophet to whom that book was revealed.
She must not be an atheist or deny the existence of God, even if she holds the belief in the Trinity.
She must not be a woman who left Islam and then converted to Christianity.
If these conditions are met, she will be considered from the ‘Ahl ul Kitaab’, and marrying her will be permissible.
However, it has been seen that marrying a Christian woman involves many harms and negative consequences, which are very common. The main issue is that after marriage, the upbringing of children and the protection of their Deen become extremely difficult. Since children are usually more influenced by their mother, they often adopt her religion, leaving the father helpless in this matter.
Furthermore, if the woman is also involved in immoral behavior such as zina, then marrying her is completely inappropriate. In such a case, it is far better to end the relationship entirely and instead marry a chaste, modest, and religious Muslim woman, so that a peaceful and blessed life can be established.
۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔
دلائل:
القرآن الکریم:(سورۃ المآئدۃ، آیت نمبر:5)
اَلۡیَوۡمَ اُحِلَّ لَکُمُ الطَّیِّبٰتُ ؕ وَطَعَامُ الَّذِیۡنَ اُوۡتُوا الۡکِتٰبَ حِلٌّ لَّکُمۡ ۪ وَ طَعَامُکُمۡ حِلٌّ لَّہُمۡ ۫ وَ الۡمُحۡصَنٰتُ مِنَ الۡمُؤۡمِنٰتِ وَ الۡمُحۡصَنٰتُ مِنَ الَّذِیۡنَ اُوۡتُوا الۡکِتٰبَ مِنۡ قَبۡلِکُمۡ اِذَاۤ اٰتَیۡتُمُوۡهُنَّ اُجُوۡرَهُنَّ مُحۡصِنِیۡنَ غَیۡرَ مُسٰفِحِیۡنَ وَ لَا مُتَّخِذِیۡۤ اَخۡدَانٍ ؕ وَ مَنۡ یَّکۡفُرۡ بِالۡاِیۡمَانِ فَقَدۡ حَبِطَ عَمَلُهٗ ۫ وَهُوَ فِی الۡاٰخِرَۃِ مِنَ الۡخٰسِرِیۡنَ
القرآن الکریم:(سورة الاسراء،آیت نمبر:32)
وَ لَا تَقۡرَبُوا الزِّنٰۤی اِنَّهٗ کَانَ فَاحِشَةً ؕ وَسَآءَ سَبِیۡلًا
سنن ابن ماجه:(باب ذكر التوبة، رقم الحديث:4252)
حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الْكَرِيمِ الْجَزَرِيِّ ، عَنْ زِيَادِ بْنِ أَبِي مَرْيَمَ ، عَنِ ابْنِ مَعْقِلٍ قَالَ : دَخَلْتُ مَعَ أَبِي عَلَى عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ، فَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " النَّدَمُ تَوْبَةٌ ". فَقَالَ لَهُ أَبِي : أَنْتَ سَمِعْتَ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ : " النَّدَمُ تَوْبَةٌ " ؟ قَالَ : نَعَمْ.
الدر المحتار مع رد المحتار:(كتاب النكاح،45/3،ط: سعيد)
(ﻭﺻﺢ ﻧﻜﺎﺡ ﻛﺘﺎﺑﻴﺔ) ، ﻭﺇﻥ ﻛﺮﻩ ﺗﻨﺰﻳﻬﺎ (ﻣﺆﻣﻨﺔ ﺑﻨﺒﻲ) ﻣﺮﺳﻞ (ﻣﻘﺮﺓ ﺑﻜﺘﺎﺏ) ﻣﻨﺰﻝ، ﻭﺇﻥ اﻋﺘﻘﺪﻭا اﻟﻤﺴﻴﺢ ﺇﻟﻬﺎ، ﻭﻛﺬا ﺣﻞ ﺫﺑﻴﺤﺘﻬﻢ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﺬﻫﺐ ﺑﺤﺮ.
(ﻗﻮﻟﻪ: ﻣﻘﺮﺓ ﺑﻜﺘﺎﺏ) ﻓﻲ اﻟﻨﻬﺮ ﻋﻦ اﻟﺰﻳﻠﻌﻲ: ﻭاﻋﻠﻢ ﺃﻥ ﻣﻦ اﻋﺘﻘﺪ ﺩﻳﻨﺎ ﺳﻤﺎﻭﻳﺎ ﻭﻟﻪ ﻛﺘﺎﺏ ﻣﻨﺰﻝ ﻛﺼﺤﻒ ﺇﺑﺮاﻫﻴﻢ ﻭﺷﻴﺚ ﻭﺯﺑﻮﺭ ﺩاﻭﺩ ﻓﻬﻮ ﻣﻦ ﺃﻫﻞ اﻟﻜﺘﺎﺏ ﻓﺘﺠﻮﺯ ﻣﻨﺎﻛﺤﺘﻬﻢ
الھدایة:(کتاب النکاح، 330/2، ط: رحمانیة)
(ویجوز تزوج الکتابیات)لقوله تعالی والمحصنات من الذین اوتواالکتاب:ای العفائف۔
Allah the Almighty knows best.
Darul ifta Al-Ikhlas, Karachi.